Muffler



May 24, 1932. E. P. GRAY I 1,860,146

MUFFLER Filed Feb. 15, 1929 fi z 6225 If V L V] a l/Fig.5 v 25 36 k .1 oi l' 425 Z7 L n A a5) IIGVNTOR.

By W d A TORNEY.

Patented May 24, 1932 PATENT OFFICE.

EMMET P. GRAY, OF DETROIT, MIOHIGAN MUFFLER Application filed February15, 1929. Serial No. 340,086.

My invention relates to improvements in mufiiers for controlling thedischarge of exhaust gas from engines, and the object of my improvementsare, first, to provide a muflier 5 with a housing and valve therein forcontrolling and regulating the flow of gases or fluids therein; second,to provide a mufiier valve housing through which the fluids and gasesmay pass when valve is open as well as when closed; third, to provide amuflier having one or more tubes or drums spaced and supported by. avalve housing; fourth, to provide a muffler having an internal housingand valve with an outside. control member; fifth, to provide a mufiierinternal valve having an outside gas tight control means; sixth, toprovide a concentric drum mufiier, having an internal valve, with meansfor rendering its outside control gas tight, said means being allutilized tohold the concentric drums in position; seventh, to provide amufiler having means for equalizing the pressure therein,

said means being operated cooperatively with the throttle control of theengine to which said mufller is connected; eighth, to provide a mufilerhaving a minimum of back pressure; ninth, to provide a mufiler having aplurality of discharge ways, the operation of said discharge ways'beingautomatically controlled by the throttle control means of the engineto-which the muffler is connected; and tenth, to provide a mufflerhaving a converging nozzle for increasing the -flow of theslower movingbodies of gases therein.

I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings in which- Fig. '1 is a vertical section of the mufiler;

Fig. 2, a plan viewof the muflier:,Fig. 3, an

' end view of the valve housing: Fig. 4,, a side view of the valvehousing; Fig. 5, a view of the opposite end of the housing from thatdisclosed in Fig.- 3; Fig. 6,'a front view of the I; valve member; Fig.7, a side view of the valve member; Fig. 8, a plan view of the valvemember in its closed position; Fig: 9, an end view of the collectormember; Fig. 10, a sec tional view of the collector member on the line--10, Fig. 9; and-Fig. 11a sectional view of the valve housing on theline 11-11, Fig. 1.

imilar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The housing 1 is provided with shoulders 2,3, 4, 5, and 6 for' spacingand supporting the shell and tubes of the mufiler. The outer shell 7fits over the shoulder 2 of the housing 1, the housing 1 being providedwith a thread ed boss 8 into which is threaded the screw 9 for fasteningthe shell 7 in position, the screw 9 passing through a hole in the shell7. A plurality'of screws 9 and bosses 8 may be used if desired. 1

The valve 10 is mounted in the passage 11 in the housing 1, the valve 10being made of the proper diameter to efi'ectively close the passage 11when moved to an angular position of' approximately degrees from itsright ang e position to the walls of the passage 11, as shown in Fig. 8.This always insures the valve 10 being moved to an eifecti ve closed'position Without the,danger ofthe valve 10 being moved entirely throughand beyond its right angle position to the walls of the passage 11. Thevalve 10 is provided with boss 12 into which are securely fastened theshafts 1 3 and 14 by means of the pins 15.

The pin 13 is supported in its bearing in the Wall of the passage 11-and in the boss 16 of the housing 1.- The valve 10 may be constructed,if'desired, with the extending rib 5 1 for facilitating the holding ofsaid valve while being machined. The pin 14 is supported in its bearingin the wall of the passage 11 and in the boss 17 of the housing 1. Thepin 14 is further supported in the gland bushing 18 which is threadedinto the boss 19 of the housing 1, the bushing 18 being utilized tocompress the packing material 20, thus maintaining a tight joint aboutthe shaft 14 and preventing the escape of gases around same.

' The bushing 18 is also used for locking the outer shell 7 to thehousing 1, the bushing 18 passing through a hole in the outer shell 7.Also the bushing 18 compresses the gasket 21 against the shell 7, thuseffectively preventing the escape of gases through the outer shell 7.The forward inner shell or tube 22 is suptermediate ported, at its innerend, by fitting over the shoulder 6 of the housing 1, its outer or frontend :fitting over the shoulder 23 of the front head 24, the front head24 being further provided with a shoulder 25 which is securely fastenedto the outer shell 7.

The rear inner shell or tube 26 is supported, at its inner end, byfitting over the shoulder 4 of the housing 1, its outer or rear endfitting over the shoulder 27 of the rear head 28, the rear head 28 beingfurther provided with a shoulder 29 which is securely fastened to theouter shell 7. The shell 26 is notched, at its inner end, to fit aroundthe shaft 13 and the boss 17.

The forward intermediate shell or tube 30 is supported, at its innerend, by fitting over the shoulder 5 of the housing 1, its outer or frontend fitting over the shoulder 31 f the front head 24. The rear inshellor tube 32 is supported, at its inner end, by fitting over the shoulder3 of the housing 1, its outer or rear end fitting over the shoulder 33of the rear head 28. The shell 32 is notched, at its invner end, to fitaround the boss'19. The tube 33 is securely fastened to the shoulder 34of the front head 24 and receives the exhaust inlet pipe 62 as shown bydotted lines) which is connected with the engine to be operated with themuffler. The tube 35 is securely fastened to the shoulder 36 of the rearhead 28 shell 7 and the shoulders 3 and 5 and also another series ofsmaller holes or openings 39 lying between the shoulders 4 and 6 and theshoulders3 and 5. The openings 38 and 39 are tapered with, their largeropening areas toward the front or inlet end of the mufller. Also theopenings 38 and 39 may be of the desired combined area to receive thegases or fluids flowing through them from the respective chambers 40 and41. The forward inner shell 22 is provided with a series of holes oropenings 42 and the forward intermediate shell 30 is provided with aseries of holes or openings 43.

The rear intermediate shell 32 is provided with a series of holes oropenings 44 and the rear inner shell is provided with a series of holesor openings 45 together with a series of holes or openings 46. Thecollector member 47 is securely fastenedwithin the rear inner shell 26and has a projecting outlet 48 with an outlet orificein direct alignmentwith the outlet tube 35 and outlet pipe 37.

, The control lever 49 is securely fastened to the shaft '14 and isprovided with the swivel- 1y mounted member 50 having a hole 51 inwhichan operating wire or cable 52 may be clamped by the screw 53. Ifdesired a rod may be used in place of the wire orcable, the

1,seo,14e

control lever 49 being changed to accommodate same.

The control lever 49 is thus connected by a wire, cable, or rod with themeans used, by the operator of a motor vehicle, for the control of thefuel throttle of the carburetor of the engine. This is preferablyconnected with the foot accelerator controlling the fuel throttle,although, if desired, the control lever 49 may be connected with themanual throttle control for the engine.

It is to be noted that the control lever 49 is shown, in Fig. 2 out ofprojection with Fig. 1, the operating cable 52 here extending parallelwith the muffler. However, it is to be understood that the control lever49 may be extending the operating cable 52, or its equiv- I alent wireor rod, to connect with the mechanism operated, by the driver of a motorvehicle, for controlling the throttle in the intake passage of thecarburetor of the engine with which the muflier is used. In operation,the gases enter the forward inner shell 22 through the inlet pipe 62 andthe tube 33. If the valve 10 is fully or nearly closed, in a setposition corresponding to a slow or an idling speed of the engine, thegases will pass through the series of holes 42 in the forward innershell 22 to the chamber 41, from whence some of the gases will passthrough the holes 39 in the housing 1, into the chamber 55, lyingbetween the rear inner and intermediate shells 26 and 32, and fromchamber 55 the gas will pass through the series of holes 45 in the rearinner shell 26, to the chamber 56, thus joining the gases which may havepassed from the forward inner shell 22, by the valve 10 in housing 1,through the chamber 57 between the valve 10 and the collector member 47,into the said chamber 56. At the same time some of the gases from thechamber 41 will pass through the series of holes 43 in the forwardintermediate shell 30 to the chamber 40, thence through the holes 38 inthe housing 1 to the chamber 58, thence thrpugh the series of holes 44in the rear in-. termediate shell 32, thus joining the gases in thechamber 55 on their way to the outlet tube 35 and outlet pipe 37. 7

It is to be especially noted that in my invention, the gases may passthrough the holes 38 and 39 in valve housing 1 both when the valve 10 iswholly closed and when the valve 10 is wholly or partially open. Whenthe engine with which the mufller is connected, is accelerated in speed,with its consequent greater displacement of exhaust gases, the valve 10will be automatically opened, by means of the operating member 52connected with the engine throttle control means, oper ated by thedriver of the motor vehicle, with the result that the gases may enterthe-inner shell 22 and pass at high velocity, directly through thepassage 11, around the valve 10,

through the chamber 57, the collector member 47, the chamber 56, thetube 35, and thus chamber 56, with the gases which have expanded, withconsequent reduced velocity,

into the other chambers, thus again increasing their velocity andmaterially aiding in clearing the said other compartments of theircontents. r

' It is to be noted that the collector member 47 is located within therear inner shell 26,

- at a point atthe rear of the valve 10 and at a relatively shortdistance away from the outlet tube 35. The collector member 47 with'itsprojecting portion 48 forms a passage having a converging nozzle andthe high velocity of the gases passing directly past .the valve 10,through the chamber 57, and

through the collector member 47 thus is increased to a still highervelocity by the converging nozzle 48 with the result that the expandedand slow moving gases in the chamber are drawn through the holes 46 inthe rear inner shell 26-, thus materially aiding in accelerating theflow of gases through and out I a valve housing, said valve housingbeing .I claim: g 1. In a mufiler, the combm'ation of a valve,

provided with a plurality of ports,'and a plurality of tubular membersoppositely disposed about said valve housing, each tubular membercommunicating directly with an oppositely disposed tubular member by oneor ports between all of said oppositely disposed more of the housing. 45

pluralityof ports in said valve 2. Ina mufiier, the combination of oppowsitely disposed tubula'r members, a valve, an a housing surrounding saidvalve, said housing being located between said oppositely disposedtubular members, said housing being further provided with a plurality oftubular members to permlt gases to pass through said housing when saidvalve is either open or closed.

3. In a mu'filer comprising two or'more'op-- positely disposed tubes,the combination of a housing between said two .or moreoppositelydisposed tubes, said housing being provided with oppositelydisposed shoulders for sup portingsaid oppositely disposed tubes, anouter tubular member enclosing said two or more oppositely disposedtubular members and said housing, a valve pivotally mounted in saidhousing, a member -for operating said valve, said member passingthroiigh said housing and said outer tubular member, packmg means aroundsaid member, and a member for compressing said packing means, said lastmentioned member thereby clampin said outer tubular member in place onsai housing.

4. In a muflier, the combination of an exterior shell, one or more pairsof oppositely disposed tubular members within said exte' rior shell, anda valve housing mounted in said exterior shell between said one or morepairs of oppositely disposed tubular members, said valve housing havinga plurality of oppositely disposed flanges, said flanges on said housingpreventing longitudinal movement of said tubes, said valve housing beingfurther provided with a series of ports between each of said pairs ofoppositely disposed tubular members.

5. In a muffler, thecombination of a housing provided with a main valveport, said housing bein further providedwith a plurality of additionalports arranged around said main valve port, said additional ports havinginlet openings of greater area than their outlet openings, and means foropen-.

ing and closing said main valve port.

6. In a mufller, the combination of a shell.

having an inlet and outlet in substantial alignment, a member locatedbetween the inlet and outlet of said shell, said member being insubstantial alignment with the inlet and outlet of said shell, saidmember being provided with ports therethrough, tubular membersoppositely disposed about said member, said tubular members beingsupported on. said member, said tubular members communicating directlywith the ports .of said member, and yalve means mounted in said member.

7. In a muffler, the combination of valve,

a housing member enclosing said valve, said housing member beingprovided with ports, a.

shell enclosing said housing member, and

oppositely disposed. tubular members supd ported on said housing member,said oppositely disposed tubular members communi-.

eating directly with the ports of said housingmember.

8. In a muflier,the combination oi an outer shell, 'one or more pairs ofperforated tubes within said shell, a member provided with U a"plurality of ports, said member being located between each of said oneor more pairs of perforated tubes, and a valve capable of being moved toa closed position between two .of' said perforated tubes.

9. In a muflier, the combination of end members each provided with aplurality of shoulders, each of said shoulders extending in difi'erentlongitudinal planes, ahousing member between said end members, saidhousing member being provided with oppositely disposed shoulders inalignment with the shoulders of each of said end members, and tubularmembers between each of said end members and said housing member, saidtubular members engaging the shoulders of said end members and saidhousing member, each of said oppositely disposed tubular memberscommunicating directly with its oppositely disposed tubular member.

10. In a muffler, the combination of a shell for receiving anddischarging fluids, a member located approximately at the center of saidshell, said member being provided with a plurality of converging shapedopenings, a valve in said member, a plurality of perforated tubularmembers engaging each side of said member, and a collector memberlocated at the rear of the valve of said member and ahead of thedischarging outlet of said chamber, said collector member being providedwith a projecting outlet.

11. In a muffler comprising a plurality of shells, the combination of ahousing having a central bore, said housing being further provided withone or more pairs of aligned shoulders supporting and spacing saidshells, said housing being further provided with ports between each ofits one or more pairs of aligned shoulders, and a valve pivotallymounted in the central bore of said housing.

12. In a mufller comprising a plurality of chambers, the combination ofa valve, and .a housing surrounding said valve, said housing having aplurality of series of converging shaped openings, each of said seriesof converging shaped openings in said housing increasing in totalopening area as they are increasingly removed outwardly from said valve.

13. In a muffler, the combination of a continuous tubular member, one ormore pairs of tubular members supported in alignment within saidcontinuous tubular member, a housing member secured to said tubularmemher, said housing member separating each of said one or more pairs oftubular members, said housing member being further provided withopenings communicating with the charm bers of each of said one or morepairs of tubular members, a valve pivotally mountedin said housing, andmeans for opening and closing said valve, the opening of said valvepermitting gases to flow through said continuous tubular member orthrough one or more pairs of tubular members. I

14. In a mufller, the combination of a head member provided with aplurality. of shoulders, said head member being adapted to receive aninlet pipe, 'a second head member provided with a plurality ofshoulders, said second head member being adapted to receive an outletpipe, a tubular member mounted on said first mentioned and said secondmentioned head members, a housing member placed between said firstmentioned and said second mentioned head members, said housing memberbeing provided with a plurality of openings for the passage of gasestherethrough together with a plurality of opposite'ly disposedshoulders, a plurality of tubular members oppositely disposed about saidhousing member, each of said tubular members being supported on one ofthe oppositely disposed shoulders of said housing member and on one ofthe shoulders of one of said head members, a valve pivotally mounted insaid housing member, and means for op erating said valve.

15. In a muffler connected with an engine having a throttle means, thecombination of an inlet end having a plurality of shoulders, an outletend having a plurality of shoulders, an outer container supported on theshoulders of said inlet end and said outlet ends, a housing located insaid outer container and between the ends of said outer container, saidhousing having a main port together with a plurality of series ofsmaller ports, a valve pivotally mounted in the main port of saidhousing, a shaft for operating said valve, said shaft passing throughsaid housing and said outer container, packing material' around saidshaft, packing material on the outside of said shell, a member forcompressing said first mentioned packing around said shaft, said memberfurther compressing said last mentioned packing. material against saidouter shell, means for operating said shaft and said valve inconjunction with the throttle means of said engine, intermediatecontainers mounted on said housing and said inlet and outlet ends, saidintermediate containers being located between the series of smallerports in said housing, said intermediate containers being furtherprovided with a plurality of openings, inner containers mounted on saidhousing and said inlet and outlet ends, said inner containers beinglocated between the main port and the plurality of series of smallerports in said housing, said inner containers being further provided witha plurality of openings, and a converging nozzle in one of said innercontainers.

16. In a mulller, the combination of a member comprising a centralpassage therethrough, a valve housing in said member, said valve housingbeing provided with a vertical dividing wall together with a pluralityof passages arranged concentrically aroundthe axis of said firstmentioned member, a pivotally mounted valve in said valve housing and inthe central passage of said first mentioned member, andfmeans foroperating said pivotally mounted valve, said means extending through thedividing wall of housing to the outside of the muiller.

Dearborn, Mich., January 31, 1929.

EMMET' P. GRAY.

